Portable data processing devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (“PDAs”) and programmable wireless telephones are becoming more powerful every day, providing users with a wide range of applications previously only available on personal computers. At the same time, due to advances in silicon processing technology and battery technology, these devices may be manufactured using smaller and smaller form factors. Accordingly, users no longer need to sacrifice processing power for portability when selecting a personal data processing device.
Although processing devices with small form factors tend to be more portable, users may find it increasingly difficult to interact with them. For example, entering data may be difficult due to the absence of a full-sized keyboard and reading information may be difficult due to a small, potentially dim Liquid Crystal Display (“LCD”).
To deal with this problem, the assignee of the present application developed a data processing device which adjusts from a first position, in which a first set of input elements are exposed, to a second position, in which a full-sized alphanumeric keyboard is exposed. One embodiment of this data processing device 100 which includes an adjustable display 102 is illustrated in FIGS. 1a-b (which correspond to FIGS. 1a and 1, respectively, in Duarte, U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,419, also assigned to the assignee of the present application). FIG. 1a shows the adjustable display 102 in the second position in which a full-sized alphanumeric keyboard 104 is exposed and FIG. 1b shows the adjustable display 102 in the first position in which a limited number of the keys are exposed. Thus, the user may enter data and perform control functions in both the first and second display positions.
The sides of the data processing device 100 include tracks 110 that guide the display 102 between the first and second positions. The display 102 includes a complimentary pins or other engagement elements 114 to engage the tracks 110. Latches may also be included in the tracks 110 and/or in the track engagements 114 so that the display is latched in the open and/or closed position.